The present invention is broadly directed to a breakaway support assembly, and more particularly, to a breakaway banner support assembly having a breakaway and return hinge to pivotally deflect any force acting on the banner so as not to transfer the force to the support structure and reduce wear on the banner.
Banners, flags, and other indicia objects, hereafter referred to collectively as banners, are used to display numerous concepts, ideas, and advertisements. Municipalities, retail businesses, and other entities typically display such banners for advertising purposes, to attract shoppers, or simply for aesthetic decoration. Homeowners display banners for decorative or other purposes. In order to support such banners, it is common to provide support assemblies that can be affixed to an upright support structure, such as a light pole or building wall.
Due to common placement in outdoor settings, banners and their supporting assemblies are subject to intense lateral loading during high wind conditions. The banner itself can impose a sail-like force on the support assemblies and the support structures, e.g. light poles, leading to a “dumping” of large loads into the support structures that can cause damage or breakage. If the support assembly breaks due to the increased force exerted thereon by the banner, the support structure may be damaged. If the support structure is damaged, numerous dangerous conditions could result in personal injury or property damage (e.g. breaking or cracking of the light pole, exposed wiring, sharp or jagged edges, etc). As a consequence, it is known to provide banner support assemblies with a breakaway capacity for preventing the projecting banner rods from breaking or imparting a destructive force to the support structures.
There are several breakaway support assemblies that provide a one-time breakaway response to a high wind loading condition. Such structures prevent detrimental force loading onto the support structure by allowing a portion of the banner support assembly to break in response to a high wind loading condition. Thus, the portion of the banner support assembly that breaks in response to a force overload must be replaced and the banner support rods reinstalled.
There are also many currently installed support structures, including fiberglass or aluminum ornamental light poles, that were manufactured with a capacity that would be considered safe with the luminaries included in that particular installation. However, the addition of a banner or flag to such a pole clearly poses a damage threat to the pole and a safety hazard should the pole break in response to increased loading forces resulting from the banner. Manufacturing new support structures to change materials and geometries to increase pole strength is costly and will increase the cost of the support structures regardless of whether the consumer intends to use such banners. Therefore, there is a need in the art to provide a banner support assembly that may be installed on an existing support structure and not impose a high loading force thereon.
Further, there is a need to provide a support assembly that is adjustable in response to different types of wind loading conditions or banner sizes. There is a need in the art to provide support assemblies that utilize less complicated mechanisms and are attractive. Further, there is a need in the art to provide a support assembly that may repeatedly breakaway in response to high wind loading conditions and automatically return to its original position once the high wind loading condition diminishes. Further, there is a need in the art to provide a support assembly that is less expensive to manufacture and easier to use.
The present invention addresses these and other needs in the art as fully described below.